Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 24, 2015 16:25:47 GMT 1
Shame that Elmer is still not around, he liked the tennis chat didn't he? Interesting you mention him as I've thought about him recently. He's the only one of the old guard, i.e. those that have been posting in this thread for many years, that hasn't posted this year, been hoping he'll post in here again.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 25, 2015 8:22:56 GMT 1
I was going to add about Tara Moore that she's capable of competing against anybody at this level, it's just whether she's consistent enough. Her result yesterday? She lost 2-6 6-2 6-3 to the 22nd seed Aliaksandra Sasnovich. I honestly had no idea about that result when I posted yesterday! She played with a broken finger suffered on Tuesday, later playing in the doubles with Nicola Slater winning the first set in defeat against the 2nd seeds Johanna Larsson and Petra Martic. Harriet Dart and Katy Dunne were the other Brits in the women's doubles.
Another notable effort was Josh Milton who took a set off the 31st seed Michael Berrer, but the big story was Dan Evans who beat 8th seeded German Matthias Bachinger 6-4 0-6 7-5. That second set lasted only 19 minutes and serving at 0-5 he played a drop volley which bounced before it hit the net which prompted the umpire to give him a code violation for not trying hard enough. He could be fined £12,750 and if he is it would almost completely wipe out what he's won so far (14.5k). Not really sure what to make of it, I would be shaking my head and thinking it was another case of bad attitude from him, (although he said that that particular shot wasn't poor effort), but i'm sure his knees played a part in that tank (which I'm assuming it was). Really hope he can win today, but I am concerned about whether he's up to playing a best of 5 set match the day after a 3 set match when he hasn't played many matches this year.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 25, 2015 13:48:17 GMT 1
Evans lost 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 7-5 to the unseeded Sugita (who beat Alex Ward in the first round 6-3 6-2)
The first set was a big one to lose. He didn't get off to a good start going 3-0 down but then served for it at 5-4. He was then 6-4 up in the tiebreak but apparently shanked a forehand on one of the set points. A straight sets defeat from there was no surprise at all, but tbf to him he did battle away in the 3rd, forcing a break point on the Sugita serve and saving a break point on his own serve. Also saved 4 break points at 5-5 but couldn't save a 5th and that was it.
He did get further than I thought he would though.
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Post by rubcale on Jun 26, 2015 18:06:38 GMT 1
Tough draw for AndyM.
Possible path Tsonga in last 16, Nadal/Ferrer in qurters and Federer in semis if draw works out but at lest justice was done and Djokovich is in the other half.
Johanna Konta has drawn Sharapova in the first round - will probably be on Court 1 since this is the same half as Serena and she will open Centre Court proceedings on Tuesday - not often now they put two women's matches on Centre in the early rounds.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 26, 2015 18:54:28 GMT 1
Wimbledon draw came out this morning. rubcale don't like looking into the future for Murray, prefer to take it one match at a time so hadn't looked past R1. He also rarely seems to play the seeded players he's expected to play at grand slams, so I glossed over your comment about his draw i'm afraid! Couldn't avoid it completely, saw the mention of Tsonga, but I'm sure his path will be splashed everywhere over the coming days anyway so hope I can block it out when the tournament starts. Spooky, it seems you replied to my comment about Konta before i'd even posted it! Interesting to see it will probably be on Court 1, not quite as bad although still a new court I think.
Women first – Mixed I would say, but generally positive.
Heather Watson v 32nd seed Caroline Garcia – looks tricky Jo Konta v 4th seed Sharapova – I actually imagined her getting Serena or Kvitova so I wasn’t far off! But “Oh dear” sprung to mind when I saw it! No pressure of course, but my concern is they’ll probably put it on Centre Court, a court I don’t think she’s played on before and so she might freeze rather than showcase her form from the last few weeks to a bigger audience. One win would quite possibly have taken her into the Top 100…although if she stays injury-free she might do it this year anyway. Naomi Broady v Duque-Marino – One of the best draws she could have got, DM is around 100 in the world. I think Naomi at her best is probably a Top 50 player on this surface so I’m hopeful about this one. Looks like the temperature in the first couple of days will be in the mid-high 20s C which should help her big serve too. Laura Robson v Rodina – Not that I expect her to beat anybody but I think it’s a good thing she hasn’t drawn a seed, and again like Naomi that is one of the best draws she could have got, Rodina is also around 100 in the world. Even a qualifier would have been tougher.
Men – again mixed, but not positive this time
Liam Broady v Matosevic – Wasn’t expecting Liam to do anything, 1st senior Wimbledon and I think he’s overranked, but this is a great opportunity for him. Matosevic is well outside the Top 100 and wasn’t in qualifying. James Ward v 8th seed Ferrer – The draw that barring a Davis Cup upset from him (assuming he’s picked) that probably ends the Top 100 dream. Aljaz Bedene v Stepanek – Stepanek is an experienced grass court player, but he’s not even in the Top 200, past his best and wasn’t in qualifying so I’m surprised to see him in the draw. I’d expect Bedene to win. Kyle Edmund v Dolgopolov – Nasty draw, he beat Nadal at Queen’s. Just got to hope I guess that having the crowd on Kyle’s side affects Dolgopolov because he seems to be very up and down. Not sure Kyle has played enough since the French Open though. Brydan Klein v 25th seed Seppi – Hmm, not good. Murray v Kukushkin.
Should add I haven't looked at how these players have done at Wimbledon, Ferrer and Sharapova are obviously big names anyway, so these draws may be better/worse than I first think, was just an initial reaction based on ranking and gut feeling really.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 27, 2015 10:27:17 GMT 1
Needless to say I've seen Andy's path now, but it was mentioned he was meant to have a horror draw in 2013 and we all know what actually unfolded there! As for Tsonga, is he going to get that far? He's been injured and was considered a doubt for Wimbledon, i'd been thinking about him maybe missing the Davis Cup tie next month. Even his first round match against Muller looks tough.
Some other things I've noticed.
Konta has got the Williams sisters in the doubles! Dolgopolov is lower ranked than I thought, in the mid 70s. I thought he was at least Top 50 so not quite as tough as I first thought.
In non Wimbledon news, Mark Philippoussis is making a shock comeback at the age of 38 in qualifying for the ATP grass court event in Newport next month! He originally retired in 2006 with knee problems. The daft thing is that the qualifying draw is usually so weak he may actually have a chance of making the main draw! Interesting to notice that the qualifying takes place on Wimbledon finals weekend so couldn't be more low key.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jun 27, 2015 11:33:12 GMT 1
I went to the Nottingham Open men's tournament on the Monday. I'd picked 1st round day because it normally gives the opportunity to see a lot of different players, as a centre court ticket allows you to wander around all of the other courts too. So I was pretty angry when I saw that all of the seeds had been given byes into round two.
What I actually saw was 4 exciting sets featuring Brits. Firstly a really tight match between Jaziri and Kyle Edmund, which the Tunisian won 7-6 7-6. At times, this game felt like old serve-and-volley grass court tennis, with more smashes and close net play than you normally see these days.
Second up was James Ward versus Tom Smyczek. Ward won the first set 6-1, with a totally dominant and confident display. But he started to lose his control in the second set, and was 4-5 down when rain interrupted play again, and curtailed our day's fun. (Ward lost the match the next day).
With the rain and the absence of big names, it was a rather disappointing day, but the exciting games we did see were partial compensation.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 27, 2015 15:02:27 GMT 1
I went to the Nottingham Open men's tournament on the Monday. I'd picked 1st round day because it normally gives the opportunity to see a lot of different players, as a centre court ticket allows you to wander around all of the other courts too. So I was pretty angry when I saw that all of the seeds had been given byes into round two. The draw was bigger this year than it was in the Eastbourne event. Two possible reasons for this, they're not having to share a tournament with the women anymore like they were at Eastbourne, and it's also the week before Wimbledon, although i'm not sure about the latter logic, that was also true for Eastbourne. What I actually saw was 4 exciting sets featuring Brits. Firstly a really tight match between Jaziri and Kyle Edmund, which the Tunisian won 7-6 7-6. At times, this game felt like old serve-and-volley grass court tennis, with more smashes and close net play than you normally see these days. Second up was James Ward versus Tom Smyczek. Ward won the first set 6-1, with a totally dominant and confident display. But he started to lose his control in the second set, and was 4-5 down when rain interrupted play again, and curtailed our day's fun. (Ward lost the match the next day). Planning to catch up on those two matches over the weekend, (well only part 1 of Ward's match, 6-1 in the final set glad I missed Part 2), only seen the first set of Kyle's match so far. Did feel it was a match that had it not been Kyle's first since the French Open he might have won. I do wonder whether you're more likely to see old style matches like this in the domestic warm-up events, I think the courts may be faster than Wimbledon, Queens certainly is. A typo I know but it was Tim Smyczek, not Tom.
With the rain and the absence of big names, it was a rather disappointing day, but the exciting games we did see were partial compensation. A shame you didn't particularly enjoy it. As you can see in one of my previous posts I thought of you as soon as I saw the forecast for Monday. It was particularly unfortunate as I think that day had the worst weather of the whole week. Of course you meant matches not games. John Inverdale calls them that and it annoys me every time.
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Post by rubcale on Jun 28, 2015 11:18:58 GMT 1
. Spooky, it seems you replied to my comment about Konta before i'd even posted it! Interesting to see it will probably be on Court 1, not quite as bad although still a new court I think.
Oops, you didn't spot the deliberate mistake! It wasn't actually a mistake - I'm all mixed up. Serena isn't actually the Champion, it's Petra Kvitova so she and Sharapova will play Monday which means Konta could be on Centre.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 28, 2015 11:41:57 GMT 1
. Spooky, it seems you replied to my comment about Konta before i'd even posted it! Interesting to see it will probably be on Court 1, not quite as bad although still a new court I think.
Oops, you didn't spot the deliberate mistake! It wasn't actually a mistake - I'm all mixed up. Serena isn't actually the Champion, it's Petra Kvitova so she and Sharapova will play Monday which means Konta could be on Centre. That explains it - I saw a suggestion yesterday that Konta could be on Centre tomorrow and couldn't understand why. Worth mentioning who Konta has lost to in the last 3 weeks. Nottingham - Niculescu in 3 sets. Eventual runner-up Birmingham - Pliskova in 3 sets. Eventual runner-up Eastbourne - Bencic in 3 sets. Eventual champion. I did wonder after seeing Bencic's performance against her whether she might go to win the title. I'm tempted to say I could see her going deep at Wimby, but I thought Keys would reach the 2nd week after Eastbourne last year where she won the title and she retired in the 3rd round! There also seems to be evidence to suggest that peaking the week before a slam isn't the best preparation, hence why the top players often don't play that week. Heather winning Hobart also springs to mind here. I think Konta's defeat to Bencic may have been a blessing, especially as she was clearly ill. Makes her performances even more impressive when she said that she'd been ill all week!
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 28, 2015 12:58:56 GMT 1
Changes to Wimbledon for this year.
19 Championship Courts with Courts 14 and 15 coming back (Centre + Nos 1-19, without 13). Courts 14 and 15 went as they were improving the facilities in that area, underneath those courts. Having a quick Google looking at a map of the grounds these two courts are near to the broadcast centre. Not sure where the main BBC studio is in the building but I’m guessing (and I may be wrong here) that you can maybe see them from the studio either straight ahead or just to the right. Its Court 18 that has that walkway up above it I think with the broadcast centre straight in front from the main camera position, and these courts are to the left of the broadcast centre as you look from there. Anyway, these new facilities amongst other things includes a new media restaurant which is 50% bigger – it certainly looks big! There seem plenty of other things for the media and ball boys and ball girls under both courts.
Ground capacity increased to 39000 (+500) as a knock-on effect of having Courts 14 and 15 back.
Hawk-Eye coverage on Courts 12 and 18, which now covers all the televised courts.
Northern end of the grounds, adjacent to Aorangi Pavilion just to the north-west of it they’ve built the Construction Support Village (CSV) replacing 40 porta cabins each year. It’s a new home for the 2000 support staff. Also the 1st part of preparing for the next stage of the masterplan – the redevelopment of No 1 Court. That will include more seats, large new catering area, improved corporate hospitality, and most significantly of all the new roof. Planning permission was granted last December and all on course for completion in 2019.
Redesigned the official website – having used it in the last week it certainly isn’t as bad as the French Open redesign!
15 courts available for broadcast.
The aforementioned Aorangi Pavilion is a dedicated player facility for seniors and juniors, used to be shared 50/50 with the support staff. Been completely refurbished, pretty much doubled the size of the dressing rooms, now a competitors restaurant on the upper level, new area for relaxation, ice baths, laundry facilities, and a new warm-up area. The racket stringers will stay around here in a new home towards the rear of the building.
Significant improvement to player facilities at the Millenium Building. Player lounge roughly 50% bigger and been completely refurbished. New warm-up and stretching area, increased massage and physiotherapy facilities and six ice baths.
The players will have their own website, including personalised order of play accessed either through email or text alerts, personal match statistics, and notifications of practice courts and transport bookings as they are made. The competitors guide will also be made available. The website will be accessible on PCs, and mobiles and tablets
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Post by Panda on Jun 28, 2015 13:29:20 GMT 1
Bonus for James Ward - Ferrer has withdrawn and is replaced by a lucky loser.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 28, 2015 13:34:50 GMT 1
Bonus for James Ward - Ferrer has withdrawn and is replaced by a lucky loser. Wow! This could really be the break he needs. Hope he takes advantage of it, it will probably be the best draw he's ever had at Wimbledon. Of course Dan Evans lost in the final qualifying round...but it won't be him as I think off the top of my head the highest ranked losers are put into a pot and taken from there.
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Post by Panda on Jun 28, 2015 13:36:32 GMT 1
The lucky loser is Luca Vanni, the world #113.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 28, 2015 13:53:38 GMT 1
The lucky loser is Luca Vanni, the world #113. So yes, must be his best ever draw. I think Vanni might be a clay courter. His grass form this year certainly hasn't been good. Lost from 2 sets up in the qualifying to Luke Saville who is lower ranked and who also beat him in straight sets at Surbiton. The qualifying matches seem to be the only ones he's won.
Completely changes the draw for the British men - it looks generally good now, can't really complain. And looking at the women's from a different angle, if Sharapova was going to draw a Brit i'd rather it was JoKo than any of the others.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 28, 2015 13:59:39 GMT 1
And what's more, if the order of play hadn't come out, (apparently it was a close run thing!) they would have added a 33rd seed and that's who Ward would have played, with Vanni taking that seed's place in the draw!
Wow again!
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 28, 2015 14:08:55 GMT 1
Order of Play for tomorrow.
Konta 2nd on Centre following Djokovic Heather 4th on No 2 court Liam Broady 1st on 18 Naomi Broady TBA not before 5.30pm - which probably means Centre or Court 1 assuming there are no long matches. Surprised, hadn't thought she would play on either of those two courts.
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Post by rubcale on Jun 28, 2015 17:07:35 GMT 1
Ferrer withdrawing a bonus for Nadal.
I really don't like the way the Media has built AndyM up this year - it's really OTT - best form of his life etc. his could all end in tears.
Jeff Tarango is predicting a Raonic/Berdych final in the men's...................
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jun 29, 2015 8:11:53 GMT 1
And what's more, if the order of play hadn't come out, (apparently it was a close run thing!) they would have added a 33rd seed and that's who Ward would have played, with Vanni taking that seed's place in the draw!
Wow again! Not quite true, Philipp Kohlschreiber would have been the 33rd seed with Djokovic playing Vanni, but Ward would actually have played the 17th seed John Isner. I bet Isner is breathing a sigh of relief after what happened in the Davis Cup this year!
Vanni btw hadn't played on grass until this year.
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Post by rubcale on Jun 29, 2015 18:10:17 GMT 1
Great win for Liam Broady coming from 2 sets down to beat Marinko Matosevic.
Johanna Konta well beaten. Sometimes it does a home player no favours to be put on a Showcourt. I don't see Konta as any more than perhaps a top 50 player.
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